The Protector
by Magykal777
Summary: Ember comes from a long line of Protectors- people whose life goal is to protect the royalty of the Castle (i.e. the Queen). They use the Sword, which contains powerful magykal properties. When her father dies protecting the Queen, Ember must fill in his footsteps on her own with the help of some friends along the way.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: *I don't own Septimus Heap or any characters/settings except the ones I created. I'm not Angie Sage and no copyright infringement is intended. (Mostly follows plot)

Edmund Leonidas stood next to Queen Cerys. He was faced towards the door to give the Queen some privacy, as her first child had been born a few hours ago, and he didn't need to interrupt the Queen's first moments with her child. Instead, he thought about the baby his wife was due to have any day now. Neither of them knew what gender the child was going to be, but they would be happy with either one. Edmund was about 60 years old, although he chose not to remember his true age, since it wasn't too important. He was taller than the average person, but with a wiry, lithe build that lessened what could've been an imposing demeanor (which was good in a fight.) He had bright red hair and emerald green Wizard eyes, and he wore deep red robes that matched the shade of the Queen's. At his side hung the **Sword**.

The **Sword** was a magykal item that was given to the first ancestor to step foot in the Castle, Badurad. Hotep Ra had felt himself growing old, and prepared to go to the House of Foryx where he would be able to live in peace. However, he couldn't leave the Queen undefended- after all, Shamandrigger Saarn and Dramindonnor Naarn would have had easy access to attack her if he hadn't been there to assist- he needed to appoint someone to faithfully protect the Queen at all costs.

He made a Sword that would help the Protector defend her; it would ensure that they never lost a fight, and could even deflect some of the worst **magyk**. The person who the Sword would belong to needed to be loyal almost to a fault, and have a bit of **magyk** in them.

Hotep Ra began what was hopefully a quick search, since he didn't have much time left. As he looked at the Castle's inhabitants, he began to lose hope. Most of the occupants of the town weren't meant for greatness. He had always considered himself a lucky person, and despite his old age, his luck still hadn't run out. A new family arrived in Port. They had come from the Fertile Countries, and they were known to have the personality characteristics he was looking for. A few days after they arrived, he went to them and asked if they would like a job **Protecting** the Queen. Of course, they agreed. They had a young boy named Badurad, who Hotep Ra asked instead of his parents, Adela and Cynbel, because they were older and he wanted to ensure the Queen would be well protected. He taught Badurad how to use the **Sword** , and **magyk**. With this task complete, he finally retired to the House of Foryx, where he could live eternity in peace.

Badurad grew up to be a strong, noble Protector, and when he had a son, he taught him in the ways of the Protector, and so it went on down the line, with each Protector teaching a son.

Edmund's thoughts were drawn back to the Queen's bedroom when the door burst open to reveal the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Alther Mella, and his Apprentice, Marcia Overstrand. After exchanging quick greetings with the **Protector** and the Queen, the two newcomers began to start the birthing ceremony. Cerys smiled down at her baby daughter and said to them "isn't she beautiful?" It was true. Although they couldn't tell exactly what she would look like, she had her mother's violet eyes and there were some similar facial features.

No one had a chance to reply, because at that moment, the door burst open again, but this time it was an unexpected visitor. The woman wore deep red robes like the Queen and her **Protector** , but around her wait she wore a black sash with three red stars- the stars of DomDaniel. The Queen's face registered shock, but before the assassin could do anything, Edmund jumped to attention and ran to put himself in front of the Queen. Before he could get there, however, the assassin fired off a shot from her gun. Edmund froze mid-stride and fell facedown on the ground. The second bullet cut off the Queen's scream. The third stopped the birthing ceremony. Marcia lept into action, taking the Akhu Amulet that Alther had told her to take, grabbing the baby Princess, and withdrawing the **Sword** from the sheath at Edmund's side. She then sprinted out of the room to find a safe place for the baby Princess to live.

* * *

At the time this was happening, Celestina Leonidas was giving birth to her first child. One of the Matron Midwives was helping her since Edmund was away **Protecting** the Queen. The new mother was exhausted and weak, since the birthing had taken much longer than usual. At long last it was over, but Celestina didn't get much time to see her baby girl. The baby was already limp, but the Matron Midwife turned away, swiping her finger along the baby's lips with some black liquid, and the baby stopped moving altogether. Of course Celestina didn't see this. All she saw was her child go limp in the Midwife's arms. The Matron knew she was about to scream, so the Midwife pulled out a gun and quickly shot the lady. The woman went limp, dead. The Midwife felt no remorse as she carried the now-bandaged child to her new home. It had been part of the plans to kill her parents, as they would surely intervene in what the Midwife's Master had in store for the child.

A/N: Welcome to my new FanFiction- Septimus Heap! I noticed that (again) there wasn't a lot of them out there, so, like FB, I decided to write my own. I wanted an original plot, so I hope this works! This will be a Septimus Heap x OC


	2. The Wizard Tower

The child the Matron Midwife took was soon enrolled in the girl's section of the Young Army. Because the Supreme Custodian knew what skills the young girl would possess, he immediately upgraded her status from Expendable to Fighter, and named her so (Fighter 007.) Because she was going to have different skills than other girls, she was included in all of the boy's activities, including Do-or-Die tests to assess her skill. She would go to the girl's dorms at night only because it was a matter of tradition. Her best weapon was a sword, which she chose as often as she could.

* * *

Fighter 007 was about 10 years old and didn't know much about how she came to the Young Army, but she figured her parents were either dead, or were too poor to take care of her. She didn't really blame them, since they probably didn't know what an awful place the Young Army was. The adults were strict and cold, and weren't light on punishment. She wasn't as scared as some of the other children, because the Supreme Custodian never really punished her. He didn't tolerate stupidity or mistakes, of course, but he was most definitely more harsh to others. She didn't spend much time with other people and she rarely said anything, preferring to look at her surroundings and pay attention to detail; because of this, she was good at seeing the slightest change in someone's demeanor, especially if they were trying to surprise attack her.

Several times she had been 1 second late in getting out of bed, and icey cold water was splashed on her as punishment (everyone was expected out of bed in 30 seconds flat.) This happened today, as she had been deep in dream and not heard the wake-up alarm. Gasping in shock from the ice water, she sprang out of bed. The female Cadet in charge glowered at her. "It's about time, girl. The Supreme Custodian would like to see you."

Wondering what was happening, Fighter 007 walked to the Throne Room where the Custodian spent his days. Her drab grey dress that was the standard uniform for girls was dripping with water and she was leaving a trail of puddles, which she knew she'd be yelled at for.

When she knocked on the door to the room, it was responded with "come in."

She opened the door and slipped inside. Unaware of the two ghosts in the room that chose not to **Appear** to her, she made her way in front of the throne. The Supreme Custodian was an awkwardly built man who was large on top and smaller on the bottom. He had broad shoulders made broader by the expensive cloak he wore. His dark facial hair and eyes made up for the awkwardness by giving him an air of menace that he used to great effect.

"Good you're here," he said, "I need you to guard the Wizarding Tower today. There are important events going on later today, and I need the tower well looked after. You will be paired with another member of the Young Army. If you guard the Tower appropriately, then you will be rewarded. If not, you should know well enough by now what happens."

She nodded, "I understand, sir. Two questions: what sort of weapon should I use, and would I be able to wear a coat?"

"You may chose your weapon, but you may not have a coat. You should have known better than to stay in bed too long. Besides, you are a Warrior of today and Pride of tomorrow- you are born to not feel the cold. You may leave," he finished his speech with a dismissive wave of his hand, and Fighter 007 knew that she'd lost this battle.

She did a sharp about-turn, and marched stiffly towards the door in army style.

* * *

As it turned out, her partner was a boy that appeared to be her age. She didn't have much experience with boys except when she participated in their exercises, so she didn't recognize him. The boy looked like all the others, with a pale, scared expression. He had straw-colored hair and grey eyes, and he was wearing the boy's stupid formal uniform.

She joined him at the entrance to the Tower, trying not to look too impressed with the height of it or how it looked (as she'd never seen anything like it up close.) Instead, she looked around the courtyard, which was already blanketed thickly with white snow that was still falling from the sky (and soaking through her leather shoes.) The two Young Army members stood in silence, as they would most likely get punished for being 'distracted' if anyone saw them.

After standing there for an hour, however, the girl decided to break the silence. "So, what's you rank?" she asked

The boy jumped, startled. "Uh- Boy 412," he said.

"Fighter 007," she replied, introducing herself. He didn't seem to want to talk, so they stood in silence again.

After a little while, she suspected Boy 412 got bored, because he bent down and made a snowball, which he hurled at a cat. Unbeknownst to them since they weren't paying attention, the Wizarding Tower doors had been flung open to reveal a tall lady dressed in purple. It was only when Boy 412's second snowball landed on the lady's coat did they notice her, and she them.

Turning around, she said "don't do that!"

Both sentries felt embarrassed, since no one like the lady in purple had ever spoken to them, and because Boy 412 had hit someone who was obviously important. The lady took a closer look at the two guards. She knew they were there to spy on the Wizards, as she'd told the Supreme Custodian that Wizards could look after themselves, thank you very much, but he'd simple smiled slyly and said it was for their own good. Looking at the two children now, who were both rather pale with cold and their hands had a bluish tinge to them, she asked, "how old are you?"

"T-ten, Madam," the boy said.

"Aren't you cold?"

"No ma'am. We are trained not to feel the cold," the girl replied, both of them shivering slightly.

"Humph," the lady said before stalking off to some unknown destination.

* * *

When Fighter 007 woke up awhile later, she had no recollection of falling asleep. Apparently she had, because now she was in a well-furnished room, on the softest thing she'd ever laid on (which, upon further inspection, was a couch.) She didn't know what made her wake up, but what she did know was that she no longer felt horribly cold. When she glanced down at her clothes, she saw that she was no longer wearing her drab gray dress, and instead wearing what appeared to be a soft white dress of some sort.

It was a few minutes before she came to complete realization of her surroundings, but she heard a lady's sharp voice, a deeper, more gravelly one of a man, a higher-pitched ones of two children, who sounded like a boy and a girl. It seemed to be the girl's birthday and she was getting a present. Not really understanding the hype, since Fighter 007 had never received a present or celebrated a birthday, she turned around and came face-to-face with her sentry partner. Letting out a yelp of surprise, which consequently woke him up and diverted the attention from the birthday girl as Fighter 007 tumbled off the couch in her surprise, landing with a _thump_.

"Hey, you're awake," the curly-haired boy she'd heard earlier said.

The dark-haired girl came over and said, "what's your name?"

"Boy 412," he said, before rolling over to go back to sleep, since the position he was in didn't seem good- his uniform had been stolen, he'd probably been kidnapped, and he was in the company of two Wizards, a Wizard boy, and a girl who had a circlet on her head like a crown; the only good things were that he wasn't dead (yet), and his sentry partner was with him.

"Fighter 007," said the other sentry, before curling up on the floor and following Boy 412's example, going through a similar thought process.

She didn't hear the dark-haired girl say, "but those aren't names, those are numbers!," or the Wizard boy's reply, since she was too busy trying to think about the situation. If the two Young Army members were found, they'd probably be killed- actually, scratch that, they'd _definitely_ be killed, and Fighter 007's rank wouldn't be able to help her.


	3. Escape

Fighter 007 was next jolted out of her sleep when the door to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's rooms burst open with a bang (she figured that the lady in purple was the ExtraOrdinary Wizard because she was similar- although nicer-looking- than the face on the Enemy Cards the Young Army member had been forced to memorize. Jumping up off the floor, it only took her a second to recognize the robes of the Assassin. Boy 412, who had woken up as well, apparently had a similar idea, because his face showed fear. He walked towards the Assassin, most likely thinking that she'd come for them since they were in the proximity of 2- no, 3 Wizards (a ghost, the first one Fighter 007 had ever seen, had joined them.)

"Out of my way, boy," the Assassin snapped, pushing him to the ground.

The dark-haired girl leapt forward, defending the Young Army member and cried "don't do that!"

As the Assassin raised her gun, some ancient, internal feeling awoke in Fighter 007. For reasons that she couldn't explain, she _knew_ what was going to happen- the dark-haired girl would almost reach the boy, but never get there. The world seemed to slow down as the girl lifted her foot up to take a step. Fighter 007 launched herself towards the girl and crashed into her, sending them to the ground as a shot rang out right above their heads.

The world sped up again as the ExtraOrdinary Wizard threw something in the air that made a giant cracking noise and disposed of the Assassin. Fighter 007 scrambled off the girl, who was looking annoyed, scared and relieved. They didn't get a chance to say anything as the lady in purple demanded that they escape through the garbage chute. The dark-haired girl pushed the two Young Army members in after the adults.

Fighter 007 felt herself tumbling down an extremely steep (vertical?) slope. She straightened herself out into a streamlined position because it was the most controlled descent she could think of. If she had curled up in a ball, then she would be rocked back and forth in the chute, and if she just went down sprawled about, it would probably cause the most harm, as her limbs would be hit. Feeling yourself falling in darkness at breakneck speed wasn't fun at all, but it was manageable since she had positioned herself in a comfortable position.

Eventually they came to the end of the chute, which was locked and it was a struggle for the man (who Fighter 007 knew was called Silas), to open, but they were able to escape and began to struggle over the piles of trash. The Young Army girl fell back to walk with Boy 412, who was still looking nervous. Then a woman approached the group and started berating Silas about leaving his family, at which point all members hastily shushed her.

They were able to straighten things out, and the woman, called Sally Mullin, invited them to her restaurant. They were able to get new clothes (both Young Army members refused, because it was strange to be able to change so much.) Marcia, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard was forced to use some of her **magyk** to change their clothes.

Sally Mullin gave them a boat named _Muriel,_ which was a bit old-looking and smelled pretty bad. Marcia was clearly uncomfortable with the environment, but the Wizard boy seemed to fit well with controlling the boat.

* * *

A few hours had passed, in which Boy 412 and Fighter 007 had slept, curled up against each other since they were- literally and figuratively- in the same boat. The girl couldn't decide whether the situation was dangerous or not. Sure, they were in the company of enemies, but she wasn't alone, and they didn't seem to want to cause her harm. Although she didn't know how she'd got there, she was sure that they probably had a good reason for bringing her along. In the end, she decided to stay quiet and observe what was happening until she knew everything about the situation, which was what she usually did.

Fighter 007 woke up sometime later, and could hear the steady, rhythmic splashing of oars in the water. At once, she knew they were being pursued. Apparently everyone in the boat did as well, and the dark-haired girl looked scared. It was only after hearing the oars get closer did the girl know that they'd stopped moving.

"Can't you get this thing to move?" Marcia snapped at the Wizard boy, who looked slightly insulted.

"We can't move without wind," he mumbled, "I suppose we could paddle."

The group frantically paddled, trying to get away from the quickly-moving boat of the Hunter.

"Can't you rustle up some wind for us?" Salias asked

"I can't 'rustle up some wind' as you put it," Marcia said irritably, "now be quiet while I focus."

Marcia closed her eyes and her form shimmered as a purple light covered her. 007 watched in amazement as a fog quickly covered their boat and blocked the view of the Hunters. The searchlight stopped approaching, but they could hear the Hunter perfectly.

"This is a cursed fog," he said to his crew. Addressing the group, he said, "we don't wish you any harm. All we want is to escort you back to the Castle."

He was clearly lying, and 007 could tell the princess-girl was terrified. Boy 412 had woken up a few minutes ago, but nobody had noticed. They did now, as he drew a breath to shout, but luckily the dark-haired girl acted quickly and covered his mouth with her hand. Boy 412 kicked the boat, giving away their position. The Wizard boy quickly sat on him, but it was too late. The Hunter knew their position and was probably pointing the gun exactly at the princess-girl.

Fighter 007 tensed, preparing for the shot, but it never came. There was a shout of "look, they're going out of the fog!" and the hunting boat quickly swept past them. Confused, she looked past Marcia, and saw a replica of their boat disappearing. Being trained in the Young Army, she was taught to notice details; doing this now, she saw that the name of the boat was reversed, and understood the it was a **Projection**. She was impressed- even though she didn't know **magyk** , she could tell the spells were complex. Looking over at her Young Army comember, she saw that he was too.

They safely got to the shore of Deppen Ditch, and got out of the boat. They hid it in some bushes, and Marcia said, "I really shouldn't do this," before causing the Hunter to do a swan dive right into the freezing water. They got out supplies for dinner and cooked them over a fire. A few moments later, a voice said "not entirely professional, but completely understandable. In my younger days I would have done that as well," before a ghost **Appeared** to them, and 007 recognized him as the same one from the Wizard Tower, although he was holding a fishing rod now.

"Alther!" the princess-girl exclaimed happily.

"Hello, princess," he said, and nodded to the rest of the group.

They sat by the fire and drank hot chocolate (at least everyone but Alther did.) "I'm afraid things aren't going very well at the Castle," he said.

"What?" gasped Marcia. "He can't come back. I'm the ExtraOrdinary Wizard—I've got the Amulet. And I've left the Tower full of Wizards—there's enough Magyk in that tower to keep him out. Are you sure he's back, Alther, and it's not some joke the Supreme Custodian is playing while I'm away?"

"It's no joke, Marcia," Alther said. "I saw him myself. As soon as Muriel had rounded Raven's Rock, he Materialized in the Wizard Tower Courtyard. The whole place crackled with Darke Magyk. Smelled terrible. Sent the Wizards into a blind panic."

"That's disgraceful. What were they thinking of?" said Marcia, "And where was Endor?"

"She came out and confronted him. She put a Bar across the doors to the Tower."

"Thank goodness. The Tower is safe." Marcia sighed with relief.

"No, Marcia, it's not. DomDaniel struck Endor down with a Thunderflash. She's dead. 'm sorry," he said.

"Dead," Marcia mumbled.

"Then he Removed the Wizards. They all shot off toward the Badlands—there was nothing they could do. I expect he's got them in one of his Burrows down there. Then the Supreme Custodian arrives with his retinue, bowing and scraping and practically drooling all over his Master. The next thing I know he's escorted DomDaniel into the Wizard Tower and up to…er, well, up to your rooms, Marcia."

"My rooms? DomDaniel in my rooms?"

"Well, you'll be pleased to know he was in no fit state to appreciate them by the time he got up there, as they had to walk all the way up. There wasn't enough Magyk left to keep the stairs working. Or anything else in the Tower for that matter."

Marcia shook her head in disbelief. "I never thought DomDaniel could do this."

"No, neither did I," said Alther, "I followed DomDaniel up the stairs. He was blathering on to the Supreme Custodian about how he couldn't believe his luck—not only had you left the Castle, but you had taken the one obstacle to his return with you."

"Obstacle?"

"Jenna."

Jenna gazed at Alther in dismay. "Me? An obstacle? Why?"

Alther stared at the fire, deep in thought. "It seems, Princess, that you have somehow been stopping that awful old Necromancer from coming back to the Castle. Just by being there. And very likely your mother did too. I always wondered why he sent the Assassin for the Queen and not for me."

Fighter 007 remembered some of the guards talking about this in hushed voices. It had been a short conversation because the Supreme Custodian had walked by, and she had to quickly go to where she had been heading. She could see Jenna looked scared, and Silas put his arm around her. "That's enough now, Alther. There's no need to frighten us all out of our wits. Frankly, I think you just dropped off to sleep and had a nightmare. You know you get them every now and then. Well, I don't know what the fuss is all about, Marcia. DomDaniel's dead."

"No, he's not," said Marcia quietly.

"Alther threw him off the top of the Tower forty years ago," Silas said.

"Did you really, Uncle Alther?" asked Jenna.

"No!" exclaimed Alther crossly. "I didn't. He threw himself off."

"Well, whatever," said Silas stubbornly. "He's still dead."

"Not necessarily…" said Alther in a low voice, staring into the fire. The light from the glowing embers cast flickering shadows over everyone except Alther, who floated unhappily through them, absentmindedly trying to undo the knot he had just tied in his fishing line. The fire blazed for a moment and lit up the circle of people around it. Suddenly Jenna spoke.

"What did happen on top of the Wizard Tower with DomDaniel, Uncle Alther?" she whispered.

The ghost shook his head, "I'm afraid not. That is one story, but I have another."

"Can we hear it?" the Wizard boy asked.

"I'm afraid it's a bit of a scary story, Nicko."

"We like scary stories, don't we, Jen?" he asked his sister.

007 wasn't quite sure if she wanted to hear it, because scary stories in the Young Army had been seen firsthand, and she wasn't sure she wanted to witness anymore. Jenna looked like she wasn't so sure either, but she said, "I suppose."

"Now, it's a little hard for me to tell unbiased, but I will tell it to you as I once heard an old, wise, Wendron Witch in the light of the full moon, as she told it to her witches," his form changed to an older woman, who was rather round and dressed in green. His voice changed to the quiet forest burr, "The story begins on the top of the Wizard Tower, on the golden pyramid. The Wizard Tower shimmers in the early morning sun and is so high that the crowd of people gathered at its foot appear like ants to the young man who is clambering up the stepped sides of the Pyramid. The young man has looked down at the ants once already and felt sick with the giddy sensation of height. He now keeps his gaze firmly fixed on the figure in front of him—an older but remarkably agile man who, to his great advantage, has no fear of heights. The older man's purple cloak flies out from him in the brisk wind that always plays around the top of the Tower, and to the crowd below he looks like nothing more than a fluttering purple bat creeping up to the point of the Pyramid.

"What, the watchers below ask themselves, is their ExtraOrdinary Wizard doing? And isn't that his Apprentice following him, chasing him even?

"The Apprentice, Alther Mella, now has his Master, DomDaniel, within his grasp. DomDaniel has reached the pinnacle of the Pyramid, a small square platform of hammered gold inlaid with the silver hieroglyphs that Enchant the Tower. DomDaniel stands tall, his thick purple cloak streaming out behind him, his gold and platinum ExtraOrdinary Wizard belt flashing in the sun. He is daring his Apprentice to come closer.

"Alther Mella knows he has no choice. In a brave and terrified leap he lunges at his Master and takes him by surprise. DomDaniel is knocked off his feet, and his Apprentice dives onto him, grabbing at the gold and lapis lazuli Akhu Amulet that his Master wears around his neck on a thick silver chain.

"Far below, in the courtyard of the Wizard Tower, the people gasp in disbelief as they gaze with squinting eyes into the brightness of the golden Pyramid and watch the Apprentice grapple with his Master. Together they balance on the tiny platform, rolling this way and that as the ExtraOrdinary Wizard tries to break free of Alther Mella's grasp on the Amulet.

"DomDaniel fixes Alther Mella with a baleful glare, his dark green eyes glittering with fury. Alther's bright green eyes meet the stare unflinchingly, and he feels the Amulet loosen. He pulls hard, the chain snaps into a hundred pieces, and the Amulet comes away in his grasp.

"'Take it,' hisses DomDaniel. 'But I will be back for it. I will be back with the seventh of the seventh.'

"One piercing scream rises from below as the crowd sees its ExtraOrdinary Wizard launch himself from the top of the Pyramid and tumble from the Tower. His cloak spreads like a magnificent pair of wings, but it does not slow his long, tumbling fall to earth.

"And then he is gone.

"At the top of the Pyramid his Apprentice clutches the Akhu Amulet and gazes in shock at what he has seen—his Master enter the Abyss.

"The crowd clusters around the scorched earth which marks the spot where DomDaniel hit the ground. Each has seen something different. One says he changed into a bat and flew away. Another saw a dark horse appear and gallop off into the Forest, and still another saw DomDaniel change into a snake and slither under a rock. But none saw the truth that Alther saw.

"Alther Mella makes his way back down the Pyramid with his eyes closed so that he does not have to see the dizzying drop beneath him. He only opens his eyes when he has crawled through the small hatch into the safety of the Library, which is housed inside the golden Pyramid. And then, with a sense of dread, he sees what has happened. His plain green woolen Apprentice Wizard robes have changed to a heavy purple silk. The simple leather belt that he wears around his tunic has become remarkably weighty; it is now made of gold with the intricate platinum inlay of runes and charms that protect and empower the ExtraOrdinary Wizard that Alther has, to his amazement, become."

"As he makes his lonely way back into the Tower to begin the work of undoing DomDaniel's Darkenesse, in a small room not so very far away a baby boy is born to a poor Wizard family.

"He is their seventh son, and his name is Silas Heap."

There was a long silence around the fire while Alther slowly regained his own form. Silas shivered. He had never heard the story told like that before.

"That's amazing, Alther," he said in a hoarse whisper. "I had no idea. H-how did the Witch Mother know so much?"

"She was watching in the crowd," said Alther. "She came to see me later that day to congratulate me on becoming ExtraOrdinary Wizard, and I told her my side of the story. If you want the truth to be known then all you need to do is tell the Witch Mother. She will tell everyone else. Of course, whether they believe it or not is another matter."

Jenna was thinking hard. "But why, Uncle Alther, were you chasing DomDaniel?"

"Ah, good question. I didn't tell the Witch Mother that. There are some Darke matters that should not be spoken of lightly. But you should know, so I will tell you. You see, that morning, like every morning, I had been tidying up the Pyramid Library. One of the tasks of an Apprentice is to keep the Library organized, and I took my duties seriously, even if they were for such an unpleasant Master. Anyway, that particular morning I had found a strange Incantation in DomDaniel's handwriting tucked into one of the books. I had seen one lying around before and hadn't been able to read the writing, but as I studied this one, an idea occurred to me. I held the Incantation up to the looking glass and discovered I was right: it was written in mirror writing. I began to get a bad feeling about it then, because I knew that it must be a Reverse Incantation, using **Magyk** from the **Darke** side—or the Other side, as I prefer to call it, as it is not always **Darke Magyk** that the Other side puts to use. Anyway, I had to know the truth about DomDaniel and what he was doing, so I decided to risk reading the Incantation. I had just started when something terrible happened.

"A Spectre Appeared behind me. Well, at least I could see it in the looking glass, but when I turned around it wasn't there. But I could feel it. I could feel it put its hand on my shoulder, and then—I heard it. I heard its empty voice speaking to me. It told me that my time had come. That it had come to collect me as arranged."

"I told the Spectre that I was not ready. Not yet. You see I knew enough about the Other side to know you must never refuse them. But they are willing to wait. Time is nothing to them. They have nothing else to do but wait. The Spectre told me it would return for me the next day and that I had better be ready then, and it faded away. After it went, I made myself read the Reverse words, and I saw that DomDaniel had offered me up as part of a bargain with the Other side, to be collected at the time I read the Incantation. And then I knew for sure he was using **Reverse Magyk** —the mirror image of **Magyk** , the kind that uses people up—and I had fallen into his trap."

The fire on the beach began to die down, and everyone clustered around it, huddling together in the fading glow as Alther continued his story.

"Suddenly DomDaniel came in and saw me reading the Incantation. And that I was still there—I had not been Taken. He knew that his plan was discovered and he ran. He scuttled up the Library stepladder like a spider, ran along the top of the shelves and squeezed through the trapdoor that led outside of the Pyramid. He laughed at me and taunted me to follow him if I dared. You see, he knew I was terrified of heights. But I had no choice but to follow him. So I did."

Everyone was silent. No one, not even Marcia, had heard the full story of the Spectre before then.

Jenna broke the silence. "So did the Spectre come back for you, Uncle Alther?"

"No, Princess. With some help I devised an Anti-Hex Formula. It was powerless after that." Alther sat in thought for a while, and then he said, "I just want you all to know that I am not proud of what I did at the top of the Wizard Tower—even though I did not push DomDaniel off. You know, it is a terrible thing for an Apprentice to supplant his Master."

"But you had to do it, Uncle Alther. Didn't you?" said Jenna.

"Yes, I did," said Alther quietly. "And we will have to do it again."

"We shall do it tonight," declared Marcia. "I shall go right back and throw that evil man out of the Tower. He'll soon learn that he doesn't mess with the ExtraOrdinary Wizard." She got up purposefully and wrapped her purple cloak around her, ready to go.

Alther leapt into the air and put a ghostly hand on Marcia's arm. "No. No, Marcia."

"But, Alther—" Marcia protested.

"Marcia, there are no Wizards left to protect you at the Tower, and I hear you gave your KeepSafe to Sally Mullin. I beg you not to go back. It is too dangerous. You must get the Princess to safety. And keep her safe. I shall go back to the Castle and do what I can."

Fighter 007 was having a hard time processing the story. It had a lot of **magyk** in it, and she was unused to it. It had been forbidden in the Young Army, and everyone she was surrounded by was an enemy according to them. She decided to make a list of Facts. It was a Young Army method to help figure out a situation.

1\. She was (most likely) kidnapped by enemies BAD

2\. They took her uniform and her weapon BAD

3\. She was pushed down a garbage shoot and shoved in a stinky boat BAD

4\. She wasn't alone (Boy 412) GOOD

5\. They haven't killed her (yet) GOOD

6\. They weren't treating her like a prisoner GOOD

For once in her life, the GOOD facts and BAD facts were exactly even, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Meanwhile, Silas had made canoes, and the group was getting into them. She got into a boat with Boy 412, Nicko, and Jenna. They made their way down the ditch, Silas insisting that he knew which way to go.

A/N: Wow, almost 4k words! That's a huge record for me! Sorry it's taken me awhile to update- I'm having trouble remembering all the details. Speaking of which, some of this is taken directly from Magyk. This also reminds me the that I forgot to do a disclaimer. So: The Septimus Head series belongs to Angie Sage. Anything you recognize also belongs to her. I only made up my OC (and possibly a few others later on.) No copyright infringement intended.


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